Return to Sender
by jitani
Summary: Kenshin enters a brand new high school - told in his own point of view! Wouldn't it figure he moves next door to Kaoru? A humorous and romantic story.
1. New World

Konnichiwa! My name is Ditox-chan and I'm 14 years old...  
This is my second story but not in this section, heehee...I have  
a story in the .hack section. :3 I'm a pretty experienced  
author so I'll try my best to make this a nice and original  
book. :D Please review, I love seeing what people think of my  
writing. It is yet another one of those RK High School fanfics,  
but since I haven't seen any put in Kenshin's point of view, I  
did so. oo; It's kinda hard trying to think how a man would,  
but I'm trying my best. XD By the way, the story IS SET IN  
PRESENT-DAY TIME. Just about. Enjoy!!

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Autumn.  
  
It hasn't been my favorite time of year for a few specific  
reasons. You know, those simple downsides like the weather  
getting frosty and raking leaves. But, like everyone else I  
know, the thing we all regret most is returning to school.  
  
Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't /like/ school,  
it's just that it gets on the boring side, you know? I've  
dedicated myself to the schoolwork and after-school activities,  
but who said I enjoyed that kind of stuff? I don't have a choice  
about what I can do. My parents are gone, but they always told  
me to work hard at school. Then they both... went in the disaster ...  
  
..Anyway. To put it short, both my parents have, uhm, passed on  
in life and left me behind to forge on my own, heh. It's not  
easy managing a household alone in a peaceful neighborhood like  
my own. I mean to sell the house and find another place to abide  
if I happen to run out of money to keep residing there. I'd hate  
to do so, considering my father helped build this house when he  
was young, but I might not have a choice.  
  
Oh, right. About me... Well, my name is Himura Kenshin. I'm seventeen years old. I live in a small neighborhood in Japan. I've got neighbors, but I don't really 'interact' with them all that much. I've got enough work to done trying to fend on my own. I don't have time for bonding with the natives. I've been living like this for most of my life now since my parents passed away when I was pretty young. It's been tough, but I've had harder trials then this I don't care to explain.  
  
I returned to school not long after autumn arrived. I had to  
wake up early and leave at an obnoxious time to arrive at school  
on time, but I underestimated the amount of time I'd take  
getting ready for my first day and, while glancing at my watch  
as I was racing up the street, realized I was going to be late  
for this brand-new school.  
  
I was in my junior year – but it was my first year at this new  
high school. I had been paying tuition at an older one for some  
time, but realized I needed to cut back on the funds and even my  
own education, if need be. So I ended up transferring to  
Yokotsuro High at the end of the year. It took me all summer  
to fill out forms and whatnot in order to attend for free like  
the other students. When autumn finally arrived and the new  
school year was about to start, I knew that this new school was  
not going to be easy for me because of the transfer.  
  
Anyway, I was running across town, dashing across streets  
without crosswalks and desperately hampering myself from  
checking my watch. I was late for my first day at a brand new  
high school. What could be worse? I was just hoping that the  
kids there would accept me, especially with this scar on my  
face shaped like a cross... It's a long story how it got there, but I'll go into  
detail with it some other time.  
  
I stumbled up the sidewalk to the school, pausing before the  
front steps and glancing up at the grand brick building. I  
sighed, throwing a final glare at my wristwatch – half hour  
late. Not good.  
  
I staggered through the building, took another ten minutes to  
find and open my locker and stuff what little belongings I had  
with me. There was a class list taped to the inside of the door  
– I ripped it off and rushed to my first class, pausing often to  
retrieve my notebooks and pens I kept dropping on the floor by  
mistake.  
  
I stopped suddenly, glancing to the side. There, on a plaque by a door, laid the words "Komagata Yumi – History." I checked my class sheet to make sure I was correct in my classroom. I reached for the door handle anxiously. Whoever this teacher was, I was hoping she wouldn't go and explode on me for being so late on the first day. I grasped the knob, twisted it, and stood in the doorway.  
  
I rubbed the back of my head uneasily. The small chattering in the room suddenly ceased and all eyes had turned on me. Oh boy. Before I could say anything, the girl I recognized as the teacher rushed over to me and shook my hand. "Hello there," she smiled. "I am Komagata-dono. You must be our new student, hmm?" She turned towards the students and exclaimed, "Class, this is our new student I spoke about before, better late than never, I always say." She smiled at me. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"  
  
Caught in the limelight. Not quite the most comfortable position; attempting to keep my cool under that kind of situation never worked out all that well. There was a long silence before I finally sighed and muttered, "Uh, my name is Himura Kenshin. It's my first day, that it is..."  
  
"What a weird kid," one girl whispered to another. The second leaned back over to her and snickered, "Yeah, but he sure is cute, huh?" I felt my face flush completely as I glanced at Komagata-dono in desperation. She must've felt my pain or something because she smiled and said, "You can take the seat in the far back, Mister Himura. Thank you for attending class." As I shuffled down the aisle, the giggles of girls continued to arise – as much as I tried to ignore them, they wouldn't go away. They constantly would turn around and look straight at me, then erupt in giggles and start to whisper to one another.  
  
I swear, I will never understand women.

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Woo! :D I hope you liked the first chapter! I just realized how weird the paragraphs are - some are long and some are short... Oo; I think they will all be about that long and if I get a lot of reviews they should come in about every day since summer vacation just began!! :D Thanks for reading! Please review!! 


	2. The Librarian

Hey everybody, Ditox-chan here! Hehe, I started chapter 2 to Return to Sender almost as soon as I published the first chapter on fanfiction.net. I hope you liked the first chapter 'cause here's the next one! :D Please review if you liked it, that's what is gonna keep this little book alive, hehehe. Arigatou! (One last thing: The title will be explained eventually.. oo; It DOES have a point! XD)

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My first period of the new school year was dull, as it should be. As hard as I tried to focus my attention on the teacher's lectures about the books and what we'd be covering, the girls' glances and giggles constantly distracted me. I had no interest in any of them – not yet, that is. I wanted to at least make it through the first day of school before I fall head over heels in love. Might not be so good if I'm too busy daydreaming about some woman instead of attempting to persevere my first classes.  
  
I staggered through my classes and the teachers. They all had one thing in common – excited about beginning a new year of school.  
  
Except for one.  
  
It was study hall, according to my class schedule. I followed the girls that were giggling in front of me until I found the classroom declaring simply – Library. I had homework, so I shuffled on in. Closing the door behind me, I glanced around – books everywhere, normal. Only a few scattered students hovering over papers at separate tables.  
  
And then I noticed the librarian. Now you'd /think/ a librarian, of all people, would be a quiet, maybe elderly character. Fragile, easy-going, face stuck in some thick dictionary or something. But the librarian I saw was far beyond my expectations – he bore the name Seijuro Hiko, probably the most burly person I've ever laid eyes on. He was really... well built, I guess. Long hair, weird jacket... I was almost positive he was a substitute for the little old man who read dictionaries all day long. But there he was, my brand-new librarian, feet up on his desk while he drank some liquid I didn't even want to approach.  
  
He tossed me a side glance. I watched him cautiously through the corner of my eye as I approached a table and slowly sat down, feeling his cold glare on me while he loudly sipped his drink. I felt his glare remain for quite awhile until I was finally able to focus on my homework. Eventually a couple other kids sat down at the same table – luckily, they were not girls. I elbowed one and whispered, "I'm new here... Am I the only one noticing something about that librarian?"  
  
The boy shook his head, not even sparing a glance from his textbook. "Nah, we're all pretty scared of 'im. Don't know how he got hired for such a quiet job, considerin' he's the varsity soccer coach as well, y'know? Best ya's ignore 'im."  
  
I didn't really buy his reply, but I focused on my homework. I noticed the librarian glancing over at me several times. Didn't he have anything better to do than to sit and stare at people and drink? I leaned over the table and whispered to the boy again, "Why is he just sitting there?"  
  
He looked at me with a slightly perturbed expression. "Dun't know. Does it all day 'till school ends. I ain't one o' 'is soccer players, so I'm not sure how strict 'e is on the field, but I 'ears that he drills them pretty hard." He glanced uneasily to the side, then returned his eyes to me. "I 'ear 'e's got a soft spot, too, but I wouldn't know."  
  
I nodded, accepting his answer. I was under the impression that this guy was a coach somehow persuaded into working daytime hours, but could care less of how his own players worked in school. Little did I know then.  
  
Anyway, I managed it through the remainder of the day, but the cold stare of Seijuro-san continued to linger in my mind. He knew I was a new student, so I couldn't blame him for inspecting me throughout study hall on the first day. Maybe he just wanted to know if I was a troublemaker or not, who cares. But when he continued it the next day at study hall, I steadily began to feel more and more uneasy in the library. I would rush in and grab a book and quickly dash out – fast enough for him to barely spare me one of those peculiar glances while I flew out of the room.  
  
I had been walking down the hall after school one day, about to leave when I heard a loud shout from a room I was passing. Curious, I stepped back and peered in. The first thing I noticed was the word written clearly on the chalkboard, "DETENTION." I stepped back, almost afraid to spot the student who had obviously called out to me. I slowly glanced across the room to the last row of desks. There, seated in the corner, was a boy waving his arms around at me and whispering as loud as he could.  
  
He had spiky brown hair – not the weirdest haircut I've seen, but pretty close. I began to wonder how much hair mousse he used to keep that nest up. Around his forehead was a thin red bandana, tied in the back; the ends flowing because they were so long. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he was wearing some sort of thin coat over it and beneath it was plenty of bandages.  
  
If you turned your head just a little to the side, I swear his hair made him look exactly like a chicken.  
  
He pointed to the floor and whined, "Do you think you can grab that for me? I dropped it and if I get up, they'll have my head." He snickered at me and added suddenly, "You must be real brave to have so much hair and tie it up that high on your head."  
  
I sent him a brief glare. I liked my hair, why should I care what some chickenhead thinks of me? Apparently it's a hit with the girls, so it doesn't matter much anyway. I looked at the item on the floor he was pointing at – looked like a pocketknife. Why on earth does he carry a pocketknife to school? But since he was in detention and he looked, uh, -slightly- threatening, I sauntered on over and retrieved it from the floor. If I didn't, who knows what he might've done to me later. I laid it on the desk and spun around, heading for the door, but his voice stopped me once again.  
  
"Name's Sagara Sanosuke," he said briefly. "I owe you one." I watched him over my shoulder as he slowly carved letters into the desk with the knife. I couldn't help it, curiousity was abounding. I walked back over and glanced at the words – "Takani-chan is cute!"  
  
I winced. Apparently, he was a chicken-headed daydreamer, rather than a strong rascal. Maybe retrieving his knife wasn't the best idea. He smiled, satisfied with his little engraving and looked up at me. "Heard you were new around here. Got a name?"  
  
I looked off to the side, out the windows. "Kenshin."

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Yay, chapter 2! :3 Hope you like it, please please please review!!! I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!


	3. Thoughts in the Lunchroom

Hi everybody. Just so you know, I'm really getting into this fanfiction!! I haven't gotten a whole lot of reviews, though.. :( I hope somebody is reading it! Please tell me if I make the chapters too long... I get carried away sometimes, heh.. I'll be updating lots so check back often! :D

-Ditox-chan

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"Why don't you cut your hair or something, Kenshin?" Sano asked. I looked at him curiously and shrugged.  
  
It was Friday. Sano and I had met just two days ago, but since he's been acting like my best friend. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like him. I was just partially expecting to be left alone throughout the whole year. I find it interesting that Sano will beam with pride when he watches a girl giggle after I walk by... It gets on my nerves, that it does, but not on his. I think perhaps he may be just hiding his jealousy. Me? Well, I could care less...  
  
But it was at lunch period that day when things really began to get uneasy. I was carrying my tray of food across the wide, chattering lunchroom when I spotted a girl, out of the corner of my eye, staring directly at me. It didn't surprise me much, considering they tended to do that constantly, but I had to have a double-take in order to really notice that she was gazing at me very lovingly – more than other girl had. To say the least, I was creeped out, that I was...  
  
I forced myself to the opposite side of the lunchroom. I sat with my back to her so I would not be forced to notice her loving stare once again. At one point I couldn't stand wondering if she was still sitting there with her friends, staring at me. I quickly looked over my shoulder – of course, she was there, staring at me. Her friends were only beginning to notice her adoring gaze, waving their hands in front of her face. One followed her stare to me, then burst out in giggles and began to whisper frantically to the girls surrounding.  
  
The one that still stared at me – I had no clue who she was, but she had very long hair. It was black, like most of the other girls, but those eyes of hers... they were so sly, but gazed with such love they kind of reminded me of a fox. As I sat there trying to maybe avert her attention to something else besides my back, a slam from the opposite side of the table made me jump with surprise and spin back around.  
  
Sanosuke sat down with a grin. "Finally checking out the women there, Kenshin?" I shook my head quickly and tried to hide my flushing face with my long, red bangs, but I presumed he saw through my embarrassment because he began to laugh. I watched him lean to the side and look beyond, at the table I had been peering at before. He started laughing harder, but his chuckles were slightly empty. "Looks like you've got a follower at that table over there. Of all people, it has to be Megumi, doesn't it?" I looked up at him. Megumi? Wasn't she the girl in my Biology class, that one who always raised her hand and got everything right?  
  
The one I found particularly annoying because of her freakish ability to be correct at all times?  
  
I began to chew my lunch a bit more ferociously, trying to ignore Sano the best I could, but his voice wouldn't leave my mind. "You're a lucky guy, Kenshin. Got all the girls drooling over you. But you should know, Megumi's one of the, uh, -better- ones, heh heh... From what I've heard, she's been asked out a lot but has not said yes to a single guy." He snickered loudly and began to pull apart his lunch with his final words, "Guess she finally found that -one- guy, huh?"  
  
I began to think about it, but shoved it from my mind as fast as I could. Megumi Takani... She was the one Sano had been writing about on the desk during his detention. Guess he was hiding that jealously after all.  
  
I had been doing homework in the library after school when I was summoned over the intercom to speak with the secretary. Seijuro-san watched me as usual as I left in a hurry. I sped down hallways and stumbled into the main office, stopping before the secretary's desk. I didn't know who he was, but the gold plaque on his desk read, "Yamagata-san."  
  
"Hello, Himura-kun. I was told to inform you that it is required you take at least one sport per semester." He smiled. I winced. "You will be allowed to join a team at this time, though you will be a week late. We will have the two coaches of the sport you choose drill you tomorrow and they will decide which team you belong on, varsity or junior varsity. I suggest you try your hardest and get plenty of rest tonight. Do you have a sport already in mind?"  
  
I thought a moment. I had heard the football team was especially messy, but I knew I wasn't built for tackling people. I could swing things around easily, but most of all I was pretty fast on my feet. I doubted I could excel at baseball. And so I blurted out without thinking, "Soccer."  
  
Yamagata-san nodded and wrote my name down on a sheet of paper. "All right. If you make the junior varsity team, you will have to return later in the afternoon for practice. If you happen to make varsity, you'll have practice directly after your tryout. I'm sure Seijuro-san will not mind. I'll talk to him later this afternoon." I felt my face go pale. S..Seijuro-san? ...The librarian?  
  
I'd completely forgotten about him. I had asked about him on the first day of school and the kid in the library had told me he was the varsity coach. But there were no worries there. I could play awfully tomorrow and make it on the other team.  
  
"By the way," Yamagata-san continued, "You will get a much higher grade if you land the varsity team. The odds of passing the semester and the whole school year increase dramastically. I recommend you do your very best at tryouts. Seijuro-san has a way of heightening the grades of his team because he is also the librarian. He finds a way to persuade the teachers if he seems them studying the teachers' specific subjects in his library."  
  
My arms went limp. Basically, I didn't have a choice whether I should do good or bad. I needed those grades. It was my first year – I didn't know how the teachers thought. I needed to get on that varsity team.

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Hey everybody. :3 I'm already done the third chapter! If I stay this intrigued with the fanfiction there should be an update every single day, sometimes even two. I hope you're enjoying the storyline! Please review! :D 

-Ditox-chan


	4. Soccer

Hey everybody! Thanks for the reviews I've gotten, I appreciate every single one of them. :3 Please keep sending them in, I love feedback. Sorry it too so long, but finally Kaoru is coming into the picture! XD It IS a K/K story although I'm not the biggest fan of Kaoru (Haha, Lendra-chan! XD) but she's a good person. I originally was going to make it Kenshin and Hiko, but decided that work be boring and got some new ideas... I think you'll love what I've done to the two of them, relationship-wise. Made it pretty interesting in my opinion. Hope you like!  
  
One other thing—I'm graduating tonight! Xx; Yay high school? D:  
  
-Ditox-chan

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Progressing through the following day of school was drudgery. I was constantly keeping an eye out for Megumi's adoring stare in order to avoid it and I tried to reserve every ounce of energy I had. I had never played soccer in my life, but I wanted to excel at it.  
  
I had fifteen minutes inbetween the final bell of school and my tryout in the soccer field. I noticed that Seijuro-san had left the library early. At first I felt guilty to be dragging him into my tryouts, but I guess he wouldn't have much of a choice. To say the truth, I was perfectly nervous, that I was.  
  
I knew it would take me a good five minutes to walk down to the field, so I left almost as soon as the bell rang. I shuffled out the back door and across the large lawn and parking lot, growing more and more nervous as I neared the tryouts. I tried to shake the feeling off, but it did not retreat. When I arrived on the field, I found I was alone.  
  
I dropped the soccer bag I had prepared the following night and began to dig out the equipment and such. I had been told by Yamagata-san to read a small manual on the basics of soccer leagues and how to play. ..It was pretty boring. I knew about soccer plenty – I'd been dragged to some of the soccer games by the girls and by Sano. I'd just never participated, that's all.  
  
I punted the ball around and chased after it. I kicked it up into the air and butted it with my head. I straightened my ponytail after it was knocked loose when the ball missed my head. I had no self-assurance whatsoever. When it came time that my tryout should begin, neither of the coaches were present. I sighed and began to pull off a cleet when I heard a loud cough and noticed a figure far in the distance, heading towards the field.  
  
Seijuro-san. I noticed he was being persued by the other coach, who caught up to him and began to chat away. Seijuro-san wasn't saying anything. I secretly wished that he was a little more, uh, outgoing. He didn't seem like the friendly type. But then again, what do I know?  
  
"Sorry we're late," the junior varsity coach apologized. I had no idea who he was. Seijuro-san looked off to the side through the corner of his eyes and nodded sheepishly. I didn't think he was much of the apologative type. I began to ponder if I was judging him a bit too harshly since our meeting in the library – which wasn't really a meeting, come to think of it.  
  
"It's all right," I replied with a smile, retyping the laces of my cleet and standing. "This one does not mind waiting."  
  
The JV coach nodded. "Why don't we get started, then?" He glanced at Seijuro-san for support, but received nothing through his silence. "It's not going to be easy to train just one child seperately, but we shouldn't worry about that. Why don't you start off with some normal kicks to the goal?"  
  
I did so. I kicked with all my might. I forced myself to remain focused on the goal, not on the expressions of the coaches. I wondered if Seijuro-san was watching. I was afraid to look and receive one of his glares. I was advised to do other drills like running across the field and back and headbutting the ball. "Hiko here is a former goalie," the JV coach said as I was gasping for air and desperately swallowing water from the contained I had inserted into the soccer bag. "I think he was planning on going into the goal and seeing how good you could shoot under pressure with a goalie there. All right?"  
  
I nodded. Seijuro-san walked into the goal while the JV coach dumped several soccer balls in front of me. "Kick all you want," he smiled. I began to punt the balls furiously, but it was if no matter how hard I kicked them, Seijuro-san could somehow block it from entering the goal. I tried dribbling the ball and knocking it in on the side, but he would just dive over and defend it. With the failing goals I was making, the odds of making the varsity team were getting lower and lower. Or maybe they would have mercy on me.  
  
As I began to ponder this, I continued to kick the balls toward the net. I broke from my train of thought just in time to see one of them past Seijuro- san's head and into the net. I stood, stupefied a moment because of my accomplishment. Suddenly, the joy surged through me and I leapt into t he air, a fist raised to the sun as I emitted a cheer of excitement.  
  
But my landing wasn't as wonderful as my accomplishment. I landed straight on a soccer ball that Seijuro-san had kicked there on purpose – I began to roll around on it, spurting in sheer uneasiness, "Ororororo!!"  
  
Rolling around on that ball wasn't the most enjoyable thing I've done. I would've jumped off if I could, but it was a difficult enough task to stand up. If I tried top hop off I would've fallen on my face. So, I didn't try to get off, riding the ball straight into small stone about the size of my fist. The ball stayed; I didn't. "Oroooooo," escaped my mouth as I flopped onto the grass, face-first.  
  
The JV coach was having a great time laughing at me. "I've never seen anyone stay up on a ball that long in all my years," he choked through his chuckles. I sat up on the grass, rubbing my head, confused and in pain. Seijuro-san was smiling at my slyly from the goal. He slowly walked over and extended his palm to me. Awed, I stared at it a moment before slowly raising my gaze to his face.  
  
"Welcome to the varsity soccer team, Himura," he said, grinning. Uneasily, I shook his hand, a smile slowly forming on my face. I stood off and brushed myself off. He began to lecture me about all the rules and practices. He told me our first game was a week from that day.  
  
The practice following the tryouts was harsh and very stressing, but through the steady practices I became more accustomed to the drudgery. When it came time for the first official game, I was wiped out from the practices. Seijuro-san said I had a lot of spunk and that I showed more effort than the other members of the team. I wanted to be one of the best members of the team, but never a soccer star.  
  
It was at that game I first noticed we actually had cheerleaders. They were not boring – in fact, because of their constant cheering and assurance, I scored three goals throughout the coarse of the game. Four out of the five girls were constantly watching me – but there was one individual who didn't seem to notice me at all.  
  
She had long, raven hair tied into a high ponytail. Her eyes were beautiful and her voice was loudest out of them all. She had the most enthusiasm and the most perplexing cheers. The other cheerleaders seemed to follow her every move. It was not until after the game should I begin to notice her fully – she was simply gorgeous.  
  
But I had not a clue who the vibrant cheerleader was.

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Hey guys. :3 This chapter took a while, sorry! My internet has been dead so I haven't been able to upload it. All my reviews so far are positive, I'm so happy! Please keep 'em coming! XD 


	5. How to Claim a Woman by Sagara Sano

Hey everybody. I've got nothing to say today besides that this chapter will be about Kaoru and Kenshin completely. XD I find it sort of amusing how I made Kenshin think. What do you think? -Ditox-chan

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She was today. She was tomorrow. She was everything I could think about, the reason why I attended my soccer games with such excitement. The reason I could not sleep at night. The reason I couldn't focus on my schoolwork. She was my sun, my moon, my stars.  
  
And she happened to be the only girl in the entire school who didn't know I existed. She brushed past me in the halls between classes, chatting away to her friends. She didn't spare a glance when I stepped into the same classroom as her. In her eyes, I was just another face in the crowd.  
  
But soon, I began to understand. Just as I was the idol for the wide capacity of girls of our school and didn't care about them at all, she was the idol for the men and did not seem to notice. She was an A student. She was popular. She was the loudest cheerleader and the most athletic female of all the juniors. She was the girl even the senior men wanted to date. And she did not care.  
  
This thought led to how many things the two of us could have in common. But it would never matter because she could not see me through the other admirers. I was just another faceless dreamer in her cloud of worshippers. But I did not want to be another one of her followers and dreamers. I wanted to meet her fully. I wanted to know what she thought about; what she daydreamed of. What her picture of the perfect boy was. If I could just find that one point out, I could be everything she demanded. I could make myself that way. I wanted to know her favorite color and her favorite song.  
  
But most of all, I needed to know her name.  
  
A few days after the game, I impatiently waited for Sanosuke to sit at our table. By now I had been enveloped into so many friendships I was disallowed to sit by myself. Sano was beaming with pride. I hurried through the lunch line as quick I could to be first at the table so none of the other guys could hear me. If one of them knew I liked that girl, someone would freak. I had already sworn to them that I was disinterested in all the girls.  
  
Once Sano sat down, I elbowed him quickly and pointed to the girl a few tables down. "Sano, what's her name? The one with the ponytail." He squinted his eyes a little, then looked down at his tray and sorted through his food as if it were no big deal. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of her," he replied simply. "Her name is Kamiya Kaoru. One of the better-known girls to the guys around here." I gazed at her anxiously. He must've noticed because he began to chuckle and muttered, "Even as popular with the women as you are, you don't have much of a chance with that one."  
  
I spun around and demanded, my voice cracking, "What? Why?"  
  
He munched on his sandwich slyly and mumbled, "First of all, you apparently don't know anything about her. Doesn't make too good of a relationship if you have no idea who she is." He pointed his fork at me. "Second of all, she's taken."  
  
My heart lurched. "T..Taken?" I stuttered, eyes dropping to the table half- heartedly.  
  
"Yep," he replied calmly. "By that guy over there. You should know him." He pointed his fork a couple tables away. I squinted my eyes and mumbled, "That one... with the glasses?" Sano nodded, continuing to chew in silence while I pondered the matter.  
  
He had brown hair. It was messy and a little long, but nearly not as lengthy as my own. He wore purple sunglasses on the edge of his nose. His eyes were joyful and he was laughing with the other jocks he was sitting with. I knew him as soon as I saw him, but I didn't want Sano to know that. His name was Enishi, and he was the best soccer player on the varsity team. He must've been that reason Kaoru had not noticed me – she was too busy cheering for his brown-haired nerd. How could she like that creep?  
  
He pushed everyone on the team out of his way. Although he was obviously the best, it was Seijuro-san he was afraid of. When he would bully someone or whatever, it was Seijuro-san who got on his case, and at one point had threatened to have him kicked from the team. Enishi had been sulking; the rest of us cheering in our minds.  
  
I was broken from my thoughts at the sound of Sano's chuckling. "So, you've finally got your eye on a girl, huh? Took you long enough." He chewed his chicken with a sly grin. "I take it you don't like Enishi like the rest of us. You're on his team. I don't know how you can stand the jerk." I sighed hopelessly, tempted to slam my face straight into my potatoes.  
  
"C'mon, don't be discouraged. I have a plan for you." Sano laughed. I looked up at him slowly as he began to explain. "You see, Enishi is overprotective. He has a younger sister named Tomoe, right over there-"he pointed a few tables away. I lunged over to see her. Definitely not my first pick, but she was, uh, all right. "Now, you might be a little disturbed by the rest of my plot, but heck. If you really want Kaoru for your own, you need to both date Enishi's sister and get to know Kaoru better. If Kaoru begins to really like you a lot, she'll find that Enishi is pretty nasty when he sees how poorly he's treating you for dating his sister."  
  
I nodded. He continued, "When she sees Enishi for what a jerk he is, she'll break up with him. And then considering that you'll know her so well by then, you have the chance to ask her out and then everything will be just peachy." He slurped his soda a moment. "The catch is that you might get into a fight or two with Enishi, I wouldn't be surprised. You'll also have to find some sort of reason to break up with Tomoe."  
  
I shrugged sheepishly. "What if Tomoe says she doesn't want to date me?"  
  
He snickered. "Aw, heck. She's another one of your fans, trust me on that one. So, what do you say about the plan?"  
  
I sighed. Did I have much of a choice at that time? Or was I really that desperate enough for this Kaoru chick? I didn't like the idea of 'using' Tomoe. Or maybe – just maybe – she will be more than just another one of my "fans." I smiled at the thought.  
  
And so, the plan went into progress. That day at study hall, I asked Tomoe out. It wasn't the best experience of my life, but Sano had walked me through the dating process during biology. It was more than I thought, that it was... Tomoe was actually pretty shocked at first.  
  
"M.. Me?!" She gasped, clutching her notebook tightly. I felt my face flush, slowly nodding. She smiled brightly and replied calmly, "Well, all right. Don't see any pain in it."  
  
I grinned sheepishly. "I have a game after school today. Would you like to come?" I had never planned on asking a woman to come watch my team get ordered around by Enishi – but Sano said that he would never know we were dating unless he heard Tomoe cheering for me in particular. I hadn't been wild on the idea, but at least it made some conversation between Tomoe and I.  
  
She seemed pretty excited about the thought. "Sure! I don't have anything going on after school. Maybe you can come to my field hockey game tomorrow afternoon? I wouldn't mind." 

I smiled. "This one would be delighted."

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Hey everybody. XD You know, I just thought up the next 5 chapters while writing this one totally off the top of my head. Now, personally I don't like Tomoe all that much for my own reasons, but I'm already so excited for writing the rest of the storyline. I think that Sano's plan is really clever... or maybe I'm just crazy. XD ALSO - for you Enishi fans, I'm SORRY ;-; I needed a villan sorta and to tell you the truth, I'm a big Enishi fan myself. ;-; (And Enishi does have brown hair. It turns white later, according to the OVAs.) Please review!


	6. Second Thoughts

Hey guys.** First of all, I am so sorry I haven't updated. **I've been busy. =/ Trying to revise/edit my completed book (that's not a fanfiction) and do this is a lot of work - plus I'm starting yet another book and I'm bushed... ; 

Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. I know I did. So.. yeah. Thanks for the reviews and words of support!!  
–Ditox-chan

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I wanted to avoid her the best I could, but something kept pulling me towards her. Tomoe was very excited about the two of us. I couldn't believe it at first, but the better I got to know her, the more I really began to like her. She wasn't just another face in the crowd. She was... different. She had a huge heart and a beautiful smile she flashed often. By the time my soccer game started, I began to think twice about Sanosuke's plan.  
  
She met me at the doors after school. I gave her my nicest smile and she beamed with happiness. Not that she was dating the most "popular guy in school" as her friends were saying, it was because I wasn't trying to act cool around her. She was happy I was just being myself. She told me this as we walked down towards the soccer field, talking about nothing in particular but enjoying ourselves immensely.  
  
She sat in the front bleachers, watching us with interest as we warmed up and punted soccer balls into the net. Enishi was not present. I had no clue where he was – but I no longer cared that Tomoe came to my game. She could come to as many as she wished. And me – well, this one will be at every one of her field hockey games, cheering her on with the loudest voice there is.  
  
When the game was half over and Enishi still hadn't arrived, (we didn't need him, though. We were royally beating the other team.) I walked across the field and sat next to her a moment. "Hey, where's your brother? He's the only one missing from the team today, that he is."  
  
She shrugged. "I'unno, really. He said he had other plans." She closed her eyes innocently and leaned forward on her knees. "He said something about takin' some guy out of his mind. Don't really know what he meant."  
  
Well, that proved it. He **knew** - and he wasn't happy about it. Enishi would beat up anybody at any given time, but usually the whole school has heard about the crime first before the culprit gets his face beaten in. This time, no one one knew anything – except Tomoe, Sano, and I, of course. Nobody else needed to know. ..Well, except for Enishi, of course. But how had he figured it out? Maybe Tomoe had said something. I wouldn't be surprised.  
  
We finished the game and won. She cheered and jumped for joy. She was excited. She didn't fake a minute of her enthusiasm. She was as vibrant and lovely as Kaoru-dono. Maybe I should call the whole plan off and just stay like this – just me and Tomoe. While we walked back toward school, she was saying things to me very happily, but I couldn't focus. I knew she was chattering away in her jovial tone as always, but it was if the sound was not reaching my ears. I was too busy thinking.  
  
I did not sleep that night. The thought of "using" Tomoe was overwhelming. I felt morose. How had I allowed Sanosuke to talk me into such a horrible idea? Just thinking that I had at once thought that I would abandon a pleasing girl like Tomoe just for another was extremely distressing. Another sleepless night in my lonely home. Why had I let myself be persuaded into such a distasteful plan?  
  
Come morning, I was destined to tell Sanosuke the truth. In just a day I had fallen madly in love with a different girl. I had taken the whole night to ponder what I wanted to do. I came across the thought that maybe I should just avoid girls until I get into college. At first I thought it was brilliant, but as dawn progressed I realized how much slower my life would move without, uh, women. But that's besides the point, that it is.  
  
I staggered into school that morning, drowsy and my heart confused. I kept myself quiet throughout the day – I tried to seclude myself from others so that I had what little time left to think. I needed to sleep. I needed to apologize to Tomoe. I should tell her what we were doing. But I knew in my heart that if I did, it would only mess up the plan further.  
  
I couldn't focus in class. I couldn't hear the discussions revolving around me or the instructions by the teacher. I was caught four times falling asleep. It's odd how teachers can be tutoring a class and focusing in on a book or chalkboard and still catch everything you commit. By lunch time, I'd dozed off in class at least once but, to my own personal surprise, was not caught even once.  
  
I unintentionally gave the lunch clerk a few cents less than the actual price and almost gained a detention. She bapped me in the head with her little money-purse-thing and forced me to fish out the few quarters I still had hidden in the seams of my pockets. I got off easy, but she threatened me with detentions coming from all directions.  
  
Sano had apparently seen the whole thing – to tell the truth, I thing pretty much every girl in the school had as well. You think some chubby lady like that one could be softer, but she had to shriek every word and then bat my brains out with a packet full of solid coins! I could still feel the bump pounding when I finally sat down – the giggles of the girls erupted in the surrounding tables. I wanted to plop my face into the chicken gravy. Lunch ladies are **so** abusive.  
  
I was only given a minute to rest before Sano would come to the table, still laughing from the incident. I was tempted to throw something at him, but I think my arms would've fallen off if I had even tried. I've never tried so hard to stay awake before.  
  
"Didn't get any sleep last night, I take it?" He said between snickers. "How's the plan going? Find any faults in the master scheme yet? And by the way – that episode with the lunch clerk – priceless, Himura. Priceless!" He erupted into another series of haughty laughter. I couldn't bring myself to answering him – It was hard enough forcing myself to sit up!  
  
He waved his head in before my eyes a minute, pausing to look at awkwardly and muttering, "You look like you haven't slept 'cause of a _girl_. Bring all your heartbreaker problems to me, buddy!"  
  
God. How did he do that?!  
  
I explained my whole position to him after school. He was a little upset that his plan was backfiring. He told me to do so many things and I refused, but yet he had a solution for everything. "Dump her!"  
  
And that, my friends, is how the birds **eat** the bees.

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Hi guys... I really liked that chapter... I thought the humor was fun like that last sentence... I hope you like it too. Oh, um, might I ask when you review that you don't complain about Kenshin and Tomoe... I _know_ everyone hates her and I _know _you want it to be Kaoru and I _know _that you detest her beyond all figures of the universe. And so you know, **I hate her too** so I feel your pain. xx; I'd appreciate it so much. Here's the scoop for my faithful readers:  
- I'm _trying_ to follow the Kenshin story. I mean, Tomoe and Kenshin, then Kaoru later and whateverrrrr, I've just put them all in like, the same time zone, in a school community... and if you've seen the Kenshin OVAs like Alendra has made me, you'd know something particular happens to Tomoe........so...yeah! XD No need for complaints, you'll be rejoicing soon!  
-Ditox-chan 


	7. The creation of the infamous Kenshingumi

Long pause between chapters... I don't know why.... I lost inspiration. Oo; PLEASE review, it keeps my inspiration up! TT; Sorry, this chapter is kinda short, it's late and I'm tired... Will update tomorrow, promise.  
-Ditox-chan

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"I'm not going to dump her," I grumbled lowly, casting my eyes off to the side. Sano laid a palm on my shoulder and attempted to talk me into his plan's detour, but I shook it off. Finally, he sighed and mumbled, "Look, what you're feeling isn't -real- love, Kenshin! You were arranged do all this, you remember?"

I snapped in his face, "How would you know?! You judge Tomoe-dono too quickly!"

He threw up his hands and stepped back, shaking his head pitifully and said nothing more. I had made up my mind – the deal was off. But I still had one more task to accomplish... telling Tomoe exactly what was up. She'd definitely be offended, might even leave me behind... what if rumors started up? Oh man, I'd be in such a mess.

Sano eyed me suspiciously before shaking his head pitifully and standing up as the chimes alarmed to state the beginning of the next class. I was reluctant to move – to breathe – because I was afraid someone would get upset with me for doing so. I had messed up my own life and future – but at least Tomoe was there... right?

I was beginning to think that I should find other friends besides Sano – and I don't mean women. But my school was practically seperated into groups, each named by the girls – the jocks, the geeks, the "hunks," and the "friends."

The jocks were basically the star athletes of the school, all pretty muscular and tall. I'd hate to even try hanging out with them, although my teammates told me I was pretty good on the soccer team for my first year trying it out. The jocks... well, first of all, Yukishiro Enishi was probably known best out of all of them, and in addition I was so short and scrawny compared to them... I think I'd only embarrass myself.

The geeks... are the brainy, computer-illiterate freaks of the school. I shouldn't say they're bad, but they're not the most friendly of everyone, considering their best friends are their laptops and schoolbooks. They don't like outsiders, sit together at lunch somewhere off in a corner, and calculate how many seeds should be in the apple one is about to eat, and so on and so forth. Not somebody I'd love to befriend...

The, uh, "hunks" are the better-looking guys in school... I've heard whispers and rumors behind my back. Things like, "Himura is such a hunk!" and other stuff like "Girl, I'd cradle Himura-san anyday, you know it!" And then they burst into giggles. It's only partially sickening – how can women gossip like that? Sometimes they get onto pretty disturbing subjects that somehow my name is inserted into and suddenly I'm in the center of giggles and devious chanting. Subjects like.. marriage.. and other things I don't care to discuss, not even think, about.

They also chatter about me being, um, dense. What they mean, I don't know.. Don't really care, either.

The "friends" are basically the guys who the girls have befriended as closely as their best friends. They hang out often. Most of the guys in this little "group" have been close friends with the girls since kinder, so I don't think I'd fit in there either.

So where would I fit in? I don't want to be a "hunk." It sounds so.. _perplexing_. Or something. I don't know. But I don't want to be one. Maybe I can be my own group... yeah. The Kenshin group. It'll own all the other little groups. Me, myself, and I. Oh yeah.

But it needs a cool name. I could hang posters up around the hallways declaring simply, "Join the best group in school – _Kenshin-is-god_!" No, that wouldn't work. The name has to be something interesting... something sweet. Something that can be whispered in the hallways and declared over the intercoms. The cheerleaders can chant it at the games. The guys can smirk deviously knowing they're in the best little club in the entire school because I'm in it.

..I think I'm getting a little bit too full of myself. But it's a blast to think about, anyway.

A name... what can I call it? Himura Hell? Kenshin Club? Damn... I'm not very original.

...Wait. I've got it. Yes.. the perfect name. Not the most original. Not too dazzling, not too boring. Yes. It'll work.

**The Kenshin-gumi!!**

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b00y4 ch4p73r s3v3n iz fin411y up! I pwn. :D Please review. TT;

-Ditox-chan


	8. Humiliation

o.o;;;;;;;

Yyyyup.

I told you guys… If I don't reply in less then a week, email or send me an IM and tell me to WORK! XD I mean, it's been like, six months since I last updated this one! ;;

..mostly because I didn't know what the next chapter would be about, but I think I have a good idea… heeheheheh…

I also just read practically all the chapters of this fanfic over again because I had absolutely NO idea where I was, so if I repeat anything or whatever, please tell me… ;.; I think I've improved since chapter seven, but if you'd like to look into that, I suggest checking out my second fanfiction, Sanctifying Rogues. That one isn't put in first person, so it's less casual than Return to Sender. **Reviewwww pleeeeease. Reviews make me liiiiive. ;;**  
-Ditox-chan  
**Special thanks again to Lendra-chan and Tsuki-chan. -hugs both-**

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Now, I would've never considered myself as someone self-absorbed or overly vain, but apparently it seems that the opinions of others are completely different. I was talking to Sanosuke about the idea of the Kenshin-gumi during lunch and explained how, technically, I didn't fit anywhere else… Sano, being the natural idiot that he is, found this extremely amusing and couldn't stop laughing… Considering that he's not in any "groups" either, we loners tend to, um… "vary", personality-wise. Either way, Sano was in complete agreement with my idea, on the condition that "the Kenshin-gumi was exclusive and that he was the 'vice president'". 

…_Vice-president?_ … Did I miss something?

Before I got a chance to give my own input on "vice-president", Sanosuke started rambling on about who would be in our group and who wouldn't and what we'd do weekly in order to make our little club … 'official'. Chickenhead still amazes me on how he comes up with this kind of stuff so _quickl_y… Plus, he's pretty demanding, so he knows how to get his way, that he does.

I guess I wasn't really listening to him, though. I was thinking about who I wanted in the group, even though Sano was throwing out all sorts of names and descriptions. Surely Tomoe should be in it, if she wished, but it'd be up to her if she sat with us or not. She… might not like Sanosuke all that much.

I wouldn't _dare_ invite Kaoru-chan.

I was pondering whether or not to invite Megumi-san as well, for Sanosuke. He'd especially be grateful if I did, but that woman was always really… _sly_. Besides being the perfect student and attempting to show off at all times, she always had her eyes pointed directly at me. I mean, she'd raise her hand in class and get the right answer, then very casually turn around and grin oh-so-innocently at me, give one of those little _girly _waves, and finally turn back around to raise her hand again and restart the entire process. As I once said before, I will never understand how women think…

But who else could I invite? Enishi hadn't gotten the chance to give me the pummeling that he'd apparently promised at one point or another, so technically it wasn't really safe to invite anyone. After all, who'd join the little "clan" of a guy who randomly gets beaten up by some sports geek? I guess I can admit that fighting makes me both excited and anxious at the same time – excited because I can stand my own, due to the fact that I was bullied all through grade school, but anxious because I don't dare to throw a fist. I'd be instantly suspended if caught for who knows how long and plus, varsity soccer rules clearly state I'd be benched for the remainder of the season if suspended.

Speaking of Enishi, he hasn't shown up for quite a few games now. The first day of school was a couple weeks ago, but it felt like nothing had happened since. I'm still completely lost in the school, getting strange looks from Seijuro-sama during study hall, and those girls are still giggling non-stop. But lately, I've been befriending a few more then before, mostly Tomoe's friends. They're all pretty snobbish and self-absorbed, so I'd prefer to avoid them, that I would…

One of the teachers overheard Sanosuke babbling about the idea very broadly and paused while walking by our table – I'm not quite sure who he was, but he intentionally averted his eyes to make it look like he wasn't listening to us. Sano, of course, didn't notice and could just as easily care less, but he also failed to notice my signs telling him to shut up. Nope, he just kept going and going. The teacher eventually carried on, but not before giving me a _hellish death glare_. Only then, when I shifted uncomfortably as he walked away, did Sano notice my anxiety and saw the teacher and, ultimately, burst out laughing.

Varsity practice starts about an hour after junior varsity's begins immediately after school, so I naturally have time to fool around and do whatever until heading for the field. It was particularly warm outside for an autumn day, so I chose to do the reading for chemistry out on the cement benches behind the school, not very far from where the baseball field is, beside the soccer field. Couldn't say that chemistry could be any more dull, but as I was beginning to nod off from the boring pages, I was suddenly bashed in the spine and thrown to the ground, though I landed on my palms with my book below. It was completely unexpected and caught me completely off guard,which makesthat inevitable shock rush through your veins. I quickly scrambled to my feet, balling my fists as I uneasily glared at the perpetrator. My back started to ache and I forced myself to relax – until I noticed just who the person before me was: **Enishi.**

"_Enishi_!" I growled, "What was that for! This one knows he was nodding off, but that was unnecessary…"

He viciously rippedhis odd purple glasses from his nose and leisurely tossed them over his shoulder before placing a foot on the cement bench I had been seated on and leaning forward onto his knee. He glared very ferociously, though a somewhat provoked grin still embodied his face. "You're gettin' on my nerves, Himura," his lowly voice creaked, "taking my spot on the varsity team and then goin' off after my sister. You know I don't allow anyone even gettin' near my sister, moron."

I was tense, but I had no intention of fighting him. "If you think that I will hurt her in any possible way, then you might after to look into that, Enishi." I forced myself to remain somewhat friendly. Maybe I could, um… avoid that future pummeling. If he did, though, I could get him suspended and thrown off the team… Hum, not a bad idea.

"I don't allow **ANYONE **by my sister," his voice grew even more ferocious. "Least of all a worthless pile of crap like you. Either you stay away from my sister or I'll rip your lungs straight out of your chest."

……  
Ow?

"I don't want to fight you, Enishi." I purposely avoided having to answer his threat, considering that I had no intention of leaving Tomoe. I think it was a weird coincidence that brought us together and I'm not gonna go and break that.

He pounded his fist into his palm threateningly, a matching coy grin on his face. "I was sure you were gonna say that," he stepped over the bench towards me, although I scrambled back while trying not to look that intimidated… but I think I gave it away already. "I'll teach you how to leave my sister alone!" He very quickly rushed forward and seized the collar of my shirt. I gasped and clenched my teeth, readying myself for the approaching blows to the gut I knew I'd be getting. He pushed me against the wall and held me there and slowly winded up his fist… I couldn't help but close my eyes, trying to think _'happy'_ thoughts. Dunno if it would help or not, but heck, it's worth a shot…

"That's enough!"

I felt Enishi's grip on my shirt lose most of its strength as he stepped back to glare over his shoulder. I managed to peek out as well, somewhat curious of who had the authority to stop such a menace as Enishi's rage. To my own surprise, there stood the teacher whom I had seen at lunch, only now he was sending that hellish death glare straight at Enishi. And, beside him, was … **_Kaoru-chan?_** Oh no, she'd seen me… How… _embarrassing_…

Enishi immediately released my shirt and allowed me to breathe and straighten myself out. I pretended that I wasn't paying attention by dusting my shirt off while the teacher began to scold the silent Enishi, saying that he'd be suspended immediately and listing all these other rules he was supposed to abide by. Kaoru looked absolutely infuriated at the entire incident, but very leisurely walked past her boyfriend over to me, wearing a very gentle smile. "I heard what happened while on the way to practice in the gym and got the first person I could find. Are you alright?"

I nodded, but tried to keep my face hidden due to the fact that it was red-hot and I was burning with humiliation.

Kaoru then smiled, "That's a relief, Kenshin-kun. Glad I could help." She then very innocently spun around and instantly regained the surge of rage, leading Enishi away while very angrily scolding him as well. _She... knew my name...!_

The teacher had pulled a small notepad from his pocket and wrote a few things before ripping it from the page and handing it to me. "Go see the guidance counselor. After everything that you seem to be thinking… and _doing_, you might be needing it." He then gave an appropriate nod and followed the arguing couple back to the main office, leaving me standing alone while completely baffled, holding a lone piece of paper in my hand. After trying to sort out what the heck had just happened, I managed to take a glance at it.

_"Seta-sama,  
this student appears to need a few sessions after school for a while. He seems to be fine, but has gotten in a fight and has been plotting some very strange things aloud and I believe he may need some counseling.  
Thanks,  
Yuukyuzuan-sama"_

…Oh dear… What have I gotten myself into _this_ time?


End file.
